William David "Bill" Turner, Jr.'s interest in aviation flowed from his experience in World War II, which interrupted his college education. Wanting to choose which military branch he served in, Bill enlisted in the-then United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and was sent for fighter pilot training at Eglin Field, near Pensacola, FL. Bill proved to be skilled at aerial gunnery, so much so he was assigned to train other fighter pilots in aerial gunnery to support the war effort. He flew and trained gunnery in the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt; the P-47 was a beloved and rugged plane that was an important contributor to the USAAF's success in the European theater. One of Bill's training planes caught fire and he successfully crash-landed it on a beach near Eglin Field. Bill was honorably discharged from the USAAF as a Lieutenant and resumed college studies at Cornell University after the war concluded.